A/N: Wokey~ it seems that I'm a bit on the roll here. I dunno. I just want to write more and more each time. This is what happens when inspiration strikes and it won't leave me in peace before I write it all down… Right, just ignore my babble and please enjoy this round to the fullest! Round 4… FIGHT!
Disclaimer and Warning: See Prologue!
A Gift from A Far Away World—a Seven Knights Fan fiction
© lunaryu
Round 4: Bad or Good Kind of Trouble
Kris was irritated.
… Alright, that was an understatement of the year. Kris was downright pissed off. At whom, you ask? Of course at both Rudy and Dellons, but especially at Dellons.
That perverted-bastard! He laid his hands on Rudy!—Kris scowled deeply, glaring daggers at Dellons who seemed to be perfectly aware that he was at the receiving end of Kris' silent ominous wrath. He looked very uncomfortable to say the least, with beads of sweat trickling down his cheek.
And Rudy is such a dense dunce! He's an idiot!—Kris cursed some more inwardly as he shifted his glare at the brunet that sat beside Dellons. Rudy didn't seem to fare any better than Dellons since his face looked slightly pale, and apparently he could feel Kris' increasingly worsened mood because he didn't dare to look directly at Kris at all today.
Well, Kris didn't blame him. Yesterday Kris refused to let him in into his room at all. Rudy might actually want to explain what actually happened. Kris didn't need any explanation per se, just lots of time to chill his head and his raging jealousy off. He needed to be away from both Rudy and Dellons after seeing such thing.
Although, such thing was mostly a biased perception by Kris just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After he cooled down, Kris in fact could imagine what seemed to have happened. He essentially knew that nothing actually happened since Rudy was that kind of guy. He was probably only worried about Dellons' injuries, and most likely only tried to check more closely whether or not the injuries were worse than they looked like.
Kris knew. Yeah, he did, alright. It didn't mean it failed to piss Kris off so much having to see them in compromising position.
Kris stabbed the sausage on his plate murderously with a fork, and the others around him visibly winced. All the residence of the house was in the dining room at this moment and they were mostly subdued. It was a day after that afternoon disaster when Kris witnessed both Rudy and Dellons getting it on (or was that supposed to be getting it off?) on top of the sofa inside the living room, and the mood in the kitchen was very… thickly veiled with deadly, poisonous irritability.
Kris could feel Jave and Spike's wary eyes on him and he turned to them in silent warning not to comment on his mood then. Rachel and Eileen also glanced at each other meaningfully after time to time looking at Rudy, Dellons and Kris sequentially.
"So," apparently, the one who couldn't stand this heavy atmosphere was Jave. "Who'd like to hear about Red's adventure at the woods the other day?" He was seemingly desperate to try to break the ice, but it only made everything more awkward. Spike patted his shoulder and shook his head slightly and Jave sighed in disappointment.
It didn't get any better after that. They kept eating dinner in uncomfortable silence before there was a clinking sound as Dellons dropped his spoon on his plate so suddenly. He hugged himself and slowly glanced at Rudy beside him in unsure expression.
"Rudy… I never realized that you think about me that way," Dellons said, looking slightly aside with a rather shy look now.
Every activity in the room seemed to cease in pregnant stillness, and as if it had been a cue, the dam broke.
"Rudy, I didn't know you swing for the other team," Jave scrupulously looked shocked, staring at Rudy with both wonder and horror.
"I… honestly don't know what to say," Spike seemed bemused, only looking at Rudy once before looking away. Somehow, he appeared rather doleful then.
"Do you need me as your beard-girlfriend?" Eileen offered, somewhat looking sympathetic as she also considered Rudy, sounding almost charmed actually.
"Of all people hanging around you… why do you pick Dellons?" Rachel seemed still in disbelief of that news, and she didn't hide her disapproval of Rudy's choice.
Rudy just stared at his friends with his jaw hanging and mouth gaping.
Kris, with his left eyebrow and eye twitching, just harrumphed and even refused to look at Rudy in the face anymore then.
After some seconds of awkward silence, it was—
"W-wait a minute, all of you! I told you it was a misunderstanding!" Rudy exploded, his face beet-red in obvious embarrassment.
"Rudy, you should have told me how you feel before you did something like that yesterday," Dellons sighed, hugging himself tighter. "I feel rather violated." He pouted then, acting cutely.
"Dellons, you bastard! Stop saying things that could cause further misinterpretation!" Rudy shouted and lunged at his blond friend to give him a knuckle attack while Dellons just laughed as he dug away from Rudy's grasp, and then they suddenly started the game of tag inside the kitchen while the others sniggered, giggled and chuckled amusedly seeing their childish act.
"Boys…" Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head in fond exasperation and somehow this situation suddenly alleviated all the heavy mood and atmosphere just minutes ago.
Kris was still very annoyed though, because despite what happened yesterday, both Rudy and Dellons could still act like it was just an everyday joke and they seemed so much closer than before. Kris just couldn't help biting his lower lip in burning feeling of envy of their easy and casual relationship.
Rudy and Dellons were the epitome of best friends, indeed. Kris wanted something like that with Rudy too, but mostly he… wanted something more.
It seemed that Dellons really had become a rival after all.
~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~
Later that night, when Kris was doing his homework inside his room, someone knocked on his door twice.
"Kris?"
Kris recognized Rudy's voice immediately and sighed before closing his worksheet and putting his pen down. "Come in," he said as he stood from his desk and moved to sit on his bed.
Rudy opened the door and sneaked his head inside the room, looking around. Upon finding Kris' figure, he smiled and let himself in before closing the bedroom door once again. "Hey," he greeted as he approached Kris.
Kris acknowledged Rudy with a light nod before he patted the mattress beside him in invitation. Rudy's smile widened at that and he hurried to sit there. "What's up?" Kris asked.
"Uh… I just want to explain what happened… you know? About yesterday," Rudy scratched his cheek in a rather guilty look.
Kris huffed. "You already explained enough," he said before he stood once again and moved back to his desk, intending to continue doing his homework since this conversation didn't seem to be important enough.
"Yeah, but… I feel like I really should explain properly to you. I was very worried yesterday and Dellons came home in such state… He had been injured more than usual, you know, so I—"
"Why do you feel the need to explain to me properly?" Kris cut his explanation midway, not even looking at Rudy as he did. He didn't intend to fester in his preposterous jealousy. It was petty and juvenile. Kris was actually older on the inside anyway. He already knew that it was just misunderstanding, so he didn't feel there was a need for Rudy to enlighten him further about the matter. "Whomever you choose to do whatever with, it's all up to you. You're your own person and you don't actually need my permission to do your own thing."
It might sound colder than Kris meant and Rudy's silence after that notified Kris that he might have gone too far with his words. But Kris didn't want to take back all of it because it was true. Rudy had a freedom of choice in whatever he wanted to do with his life and whomever he chose to be with, Kris didn't have right to dictate them. He was just Rudy's best friend. He didn't even have any right to be jealous of them. If he really was Rudy's best friend like he thought he was, then Kris had to be happy and supportive of Rudy's choice other half, unless they were criminals or had potential to hurt Rudy in the long run.
"You're right, Kris," Rudy said softly after being quiet for a full minute. "I don't have to explain to you, but I want to anyway," he added more gently and Kris had to paused his writing as he turned back to face Rudy. The brunet was holding the chest part of his clothes, looking a bit disheartened. "Because I don't want you to misunderstand, Dellons and I are just best friends and nothing more."
Kris was quietly staring at Rudy's weak smile and he sighed deeply in a slight vexation. "You're indeed too dense as always," he whispered lowly, pretty sure that Rudy didn't hear him, before he smiled slightly as well. "Well, if you decide to date Dellons, I will do my utmost best to sabotage your relationship, though."
Kris commented loudly after that, turning back to his homework without further care for Rudy as the brunet "Eeeeeh?" whined at Kris in confused, bewildered tone.
~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~
Rudy looked thoughtful when he was watering the plants on their boarding house yard. Those plants and herbs were mostly planted by their landlord, but Jave had a small patch of soil dedicated to cherry tomatoes (they were Red's favorite snack) and all the occupants of the house took turn to take care of those exotic plants.
Both Jave and Spike were mowing the lawn as they spotted Rudy, and apparently, the tall brunet was spacing out because he kept watering the same plant even though the ground already too soggy for more water.
"What is he doing?" Spike's sweat dropped as Jave called out to Rudy in alarm seeing the tragedy in the making.
"Rudy! The plant is drowning!"
Rudy seemed to snap out of his reverie with that yell and yelped in shock as he realized what he had done to the poor plant. "Aaah! The cherry tomatoes!" and he seemed to panic, so Jave abandoned his mowing gear and ran towards Rudy to save the delicate plantation from its impending devastation.
"Sheesh, be more careful, Rudy. This plant needs specific amount of water to survive," Jave hurriedly and expertly moved the almost drowned plant to a nearby pot, intending to wait for the soil on the ground to dry a little before he could re-plant it there.
"Sorry, I was… thinking," Rudy sighed, looking regretful.
"You're not just thinking, but spacing out, you-dunce. What's wrong? It's not like you to be so unfocused," Jave patted the soil in the pot after he buried the plant roots before he looked upward at the crouching Rudy beside him.
"Yeah, sorry about that… I'm just… there's a lot on my mind right now," Rudy took off his rubber gloves and put them down before he swept his sweaty hair back and sighed.
"Well, I'm all ears if you want to talk," Jave sat down on the ground looking at Rudy expectantly and waiting for the brunet to start talking. Spike could handle mowing the lawn by himself for a while anyway. Rudy seemed to be troubled by something and in great need to talk to other people about it.
"No, well… it's about something Kris said the other day," Rudy scratched his head, looking confused and uneasy.
"What other day? Wait, what did he say?" Jave raised his eyebrows, interested in it. After all, he knew how the silver platinum blond felt about Rudy. Well, everyone knew except Rudy himself. It was possible that Kris finally got the courage to confess but somehow Rudy still didn't catch up.
"Um, it was after dinner two days ago, when you guys made fun of me for the misunderstanding of Dellons and my relationship," Rudy explained further. "I went to Kris to explain that there was nothing between Dellons and me. Kris said I was free to do whatever with whomever and I didn't need his approval for all of those."
"Oh, man… Kris was still pissed then," Jave cringed, couldn't help feeling rather empathetic towards Rudy. Kris could really hold a grudge after all. Well, after two days, he should have realized that it was just misunderstanding, so maybe Kris' jealousy was the cause of his prolonged resentment.
"But, he didn't sound angry," Rudy frowned, sounding discouraged. "I'd know if he was still angry. Kris sounded almost… distant, somehow, like he didn't care."
"Rudy…" Jave looked at his friend compassionately.
"And then he said something very peculiar," Rudy continued. "Kris said, if I chose to date Dellons, he would do his best to sabotage our relationship."
Whoa! Kris was so daring! That was like saying 'choose me instead!'—Jave gaped, surprised, but feeling slightly excited as well for the progress. This way, Rudy surely would notice Kris' feeling!
"What do you think, Jave? Why did he say something like that? I mean, I don't intend to date Dellons. He's my best friend after all. But why would Kris try to sabotage our relationship if it was the case?" Rudy looked extremely befuddled now and Jave actually comically fell down, wanting to bash his own (or Rudy's) head on the nearest bark of tree after realizing that Rudy still didn't get it even after all of that.
"Wait, how come you didn't understand that he was jealous?!" Jave shouted at Rudy, exasperated and frustrated because Rudy was so dense! It was almost a crime to be that oblivious, damn it!
"J-jealous?" Now, Rudy sounded perplexed, looking almost overwhelmed even, and Jave felt rather bad that he had blurted out Kris' secret in front of his crush, but it couldn't be helped! He meant, Rudy wouldn't understand if it didn't hit him in the face!
"Jealous… Kris was…?" For some reason, now Rudy's face paled and his expression looked even more bothered. "Is… is it possibly because Kris… likes Dellons that way?"
… Rudy's worried mumble just killed a part of Jave's brain.
Rudy was an idiot. Yeah, he was academically smart, very kind and supple and everybody liked him and all, but he was still an utter thick idiot. Now Jave felt a lot for Kris' behalf. Oh well, but Jave still wouldn't get himself mixed up in this ridiculous (not-exactly yet) love-triangle. Nope. Nuh-huh. He'd rather watch in the sideline because it seemed safer and less problematic.
"I see… Kris is against a wall after all," Jave deadpanned, stood up and turned away from Rudy who was still muttering about Kris and Dellons being that way and didn't seem to realize that Jave didn't want to hear any more of his silly assumption.
Kris has to say the 'L' word if he wants Rudy to understand his feeling. I'm rooting for you, Kris! Do your best!—Jave couldn't help cheering for his friend inwardly. It would be a hard path against that legendary obliviousness, but he was sure if anyone could get through Rudy's thick skull, it would be Kris.
~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~
Kris bit into his bread rather roughly. He wasn't usually a messy eater since he was raised in environment that paid highly attention to mannerism, but this time he was just too out of it to give a damn. He was annoyed and frustrated because he still couldn't find his note.
Oh no, of course Kris hadn't given up on searching his experiment note despite the distraction called his interpersonal relationship. But no matter how hard he tried to look for it, the thing just refused to be found in his boarding house. Where in the world could it be? He had looked for it everywhere inside the house except his friends' rooms.
Had I left it in my private lab after all?—Kris frowned deeply. It seemed improbable, because Kris Tenebra's private lab was located in his family home and Kris had been building something in the basement of his boarding house. Besides, he wasn't really fond of his blood relative (except maybe his mother). Since Kris had gone to university, he rarely came home even in holydays. He wasn't close with his father who demanded his accomplishment at every turn because Kris was the heir of his business empire.
Kris Tenebra was scientist in every aspect of his mind and heart. He loved theoretical physics and math language. His dream was to find ways for theories to be applied in everyday life. It wasn't like he hated politic and management, they were also necessary if he wanted to succeed with his life, but his father's way of doing things sometime didn't sit right with his principle.
Kris tried to fulfill his father's every demand and expectation though, so a little freedom of choice that was given to him wouldn't be taken away. He had been doing it since he was a child. He was used to it despite not liking it. But this life that he had with his friends outside of his family's scrutiny was the only thing he wouldn't give up no matter what the cost was. He only had four years in college, so he would try his hardest to protect these specific years from his family's interference.
That's why, using his independent lab in his family home was out of option. Kris wouldn't keep his important experiment / journal there, because it was not only too far from his current home, but also too close to his blood-family's eyes.
If father knew what I was experimenting with, who knows what he'd do to somehow use it to facilitate his ambition?—Kris sighed deeply as he thought about it. Human's greed was endless.
Kris finished his lunch alone again for the day since both Rudy and Dellons apparently had a deadline of one of their class joint projects. They said they would be in the central library working on it during lunch break. Maybe Kris should go there as well if only just to be an onlooker of their effort in finishing their project. It was better than being alone and getting depressed over things that he couldn't help himself with.
Kris packed up and was ready to leave his spot when someone approached him from behind. Kris turned to the person only to blink once when he found Lu Bu again there. "Kris Tenebra," he called slowly, but with wary expression, seemingly serious from the start and foregoing his pretend politeness.
Wow, even Dellons' rep can't hold him off for more than a week. Is he that desperate?
"Lu Bu," Kris greeted him back with a nod. "What do you want?" He asked, also skipping out his fake friendliness.
"I need… no, we need to talk to you in private about that experiment," Lu Bu seemed to decide to speak to the point and Kris could appreciate his honesty this time when his friends also approached Kris from behind Lu Bu.
"And why do I need to speak to you guys about my classified experiment?" Kris crossed his arms on his chest, raising one of his eyebrows as he looked at those people that crowded him in their eyes.
"This has something to do with the matter of national security," Rin, the only girl in the group, spoke up with low tone and voice, sounding grave and looking discreet at the same time.
"We didn't mean to raise your guard up the other day. Lu Bu was just not good with chatting people up," Goku piped up, snorting slightly, and Lu Bu visibly scowled at him.
"We hope we could interest you in joining our important confidential discussion, Kris Tenebra," Ace spoke with a small smile. "We're not trying to pressure you, but as Rin said, the matter of national security is at stake. As a citizen of this country, you actually have an obligation to help us," he continued ruefully, sweeping his long, bluish-silver hair behind his ear.
Well, it was better than lying to Kris about it. If Lu Bu had said something like this the other day, Kris would have gladly told him about what he knew, which was close to nothing because he hadn't found his note yet. But since it seemed really important and bigger than what Kris had thought, he needed to have all the facts from their side first before he was willing to give them any information.
"I hope we wouldn't talk here. It's too public, don't you think?" Kris responded to them with a sigh after noticing that other people turned their heads to their group. Of course, Four Lords weren't just a name. Those four were very popular, just like Dellons said. Besides, even though usually other students left Kris alone most of the time (since he hated crowding), they actually watched Kris. Some people (girls, mostly) really did admire him after all.
It will be very unwise to continue speaking about sensitive matter here.
"Why don't we discuss this somewhere else more… discreet, at another time? I have class after the lunch break is over," Kris bargained. The four of his new acquaintances agreed after they asked for Kris' number and gave him theirs, so they could contact each other if necessary.
Well, isn't it getting more interesting each day?—Kris couldn't help thinking in deadpan, actually pretty curious about it, as he stared at the four new cell-phone numbers in his contact-list after they bid him good bye and walked away.
~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~
Eileen stared at Kris' back in perplexity after the silver platinum blond man asked to borrow her laptop—when he suddenly visited her in her class right after they were dismissed by her professor, and then proceeded to hack the security system of their campus right in front of her nose.
"Kris, you know that hacking is illegal, right?" she couldn't help asking herself inwardly if Kris had finally lost his mind. Kris only nodded once in response to her question, but didn't look away from the screen. "So… why the heck are you using my laptop to do such unlawful thing while you know very well that I take Law and Criminal Justice as my major and have an obligation to turn you in if I witness crime you are committing right now?"
Sometimes she couldn't understand her mostly quiet (but prodigious) friend. Well, people generally couldn't really comprehend Kris unless he spoke up his mind, and he didn't have any problem with it because he was trained to speak in public by his prestigious family regardless of liking it or not, but to speak out his real feeling and intention was another thing, and right now, Eileen had a difficult time reading Kris' intention.
Alright, Kris probably wanted to know some information that their campus had but wasn't intended for public's eyes. That much Eileen understood. But why was he using her laptop and doing it without discretion? She doubted that he intended to make her take responsibility for his illegal bidding. He was too bold doing it in front of her like that. Besides, Kris wasn't that kind of person.
"That's why I'm doing it with your laptop and in your knowledge, so I will have witness that I don't access things that will land me in jail if this ever come to light," Kris gave her a small smile and Eileen dropped her head on the table surface with a deep sigh.
"I get it. You make me an accomplice so I won't report you," she groaned. Kris was sly. He knew if she knew it was nothing bad she wouldn't even raise attention to herself and her friend. Making scandal in her student year would be bad on her rep after all, and against Kris was like against the whole campus (especially Kris' fans, they could be real nasty if they wanted to be).
"No, that's not what I mean," Kris denied with a light chuckle. "You can report me, but I'm pretty sure you will have to explain what I do and it won't matter in the end because I designed this campus firewall and security system for the last year. They will just assume I have something to fix briefly in the system since I'm doing it with your laptop instead of mine," he explained.
"Wow, that sounds even more cunning than forcibly using me as your accomplice," Eileen laughed lightly at that, feeling rather flattered that Kris trusted her enough to lay all his devious idea in silver platter for her to understand.
Eileen and Kris had only known each other since their sophomore year in high school, and just because Rudy was elected to be a student council president. She had to work with Rudy and Rachel, and Kris sometimes came by to help them sorting data and setting up security in their computer system. Actually, she had known Kris by name and look since their freshmen year because of Kris' rep as the one and only heir of Tenebra Group.
Rachel, as the heiress of Agni Group, had met Kris on several occasion in some kind of formal prestigious family parties, but never talked to each other pass obligatory greeting. Rachel told Eileen about Kris first before Eileen got to know Kris personally when Rudy introduced him to the Student Council's committee. Eileen instantly knew that Kris wasn't exactly comfortable in the crowd, but was forced to get used to it and even though he didn't look like it, he was actually pretty sly and crafty when he put his mind into it, like that time when he ruined some people's future because they dared to frame Rudy for the stolen examination sheets. That was pretty bad because Kris had done illegal things like hacking school computer system and changed records of school attendance. At the time she had no hard proof that he did it, but he didn't deny nor admit it when she asked him about it.
"What do you think?"
At the time, Kris only smirked ambiguously as he asked her back. Eileen was pretty sure he indeed did it, but since she had no proof, she couldn't do anything about it, and honestly, she didn't want to. Those people deserved the punishment after all, and Kris wouldn't have done it if it wasn't necessary.
Besides, a bigger pain in the ass named Dellons was in their year, and Dellons actually kicked those nuisances' asses to the next week as he sent them all to hospital with broken bones here and there. She didn't realize that Dellons regarded Rudy so highly that he even couldn't stand other people messing with him. She meant, Dellons had provoked Rudy constantly since the first time they laid eyes on each other, and everyone thought Dellons hated Rudy's guts to the core, but he said something twistedly sweet when he was asked why he beat those people.
"Isn't it obvious? Only I am allowed to mess with Rudy."
Moreover, Dellons said that with a scarily saccharine smile too. People dubbed Dellons the shadow ruler of Terra High School because of that. Upfront, he was antagonizing Rudy all the time, but he did all the dubious work student council couldn't do at the backside to support Rudy's reign as student council president. He was such a confusing, contradictory character, but Dellons was also very charming and popular among the girls even until now. Because of his interesting eccentricity and twisted benevolence, Rudy called him his best friend and even Eileen, Rachel, Kris, Spike and Jave couldn't really leave him alone after that.
Also, there was this weird three-way relationship between Rudy, Kris and Dellons. Eileen didn't know how or why, but although they were childhood best friend, it was clear that Kris harbored romantic feelings toward Rudy despite the brunet being too dense to even realize it. And yet, seeming to disregard Kris' crush on Rudy, Dellons didn't make a secret of his infatuation with Kris even though his way of showing his love for the silver platinum blond was by flirting and harassing him every chance he got, mostly pissing Kris off so he couldn't ignore him. But Dellons and Rudy were best friends, and even if Rudy seemed to have feelings for Kris as well, he apparently didn't get the nature of his own feeling. Moreover, it was complicated by the fact that Rudy could never stray his perseverance from Dellons because the blond was a troublemaker to the core and Rudy didn't have a heart to let Dellons be. And even though it sounded dubious, Dellons apparently basked in Rudy's almost undivided attention to him in a weird way…
Yeah, it's very complicated between those three…
But Eileen secretly thought that their relationship dynamic was very entertaining despite frustrating at times. Personally, she wanted Rudy to quickly realize his own feelings toward Kris, so it could spare them all from watching the hopelessness of the situation. Rudy and Kris were good together. Well, she would probably feel bad for Dellons, but for some reason, she had a hunch that Dellons' twisted, aggressive courting towards Kris was probably the blond' scheme to make Rudy realize his own feeling for Kris, and possibly to make the brunet take action for it.
Ugh, Dellons isn't that nice of a guy, though…—Eileen rolled her eyes slightly, chuckling awkwardly.
"Hmm? Are you laughing at me?" Kris asked and Eileen blinked out of her train of thought.
"Oh, what? No, I was just remembering something funny," Eileen snickered again, trying to put an end of her ridiculous thought about her friends' love-triangle problem. Kris shook his head at that as he kept typing something in her laptop. "So… are you going to tell me what kind of information you're looking for that you have to hack in our campus computer system?" She straightened her back after calming down enough to focus her mind on more serious matter.
"Hmm? Ah, it's nothing much. I only want to look up some students' data, since they weren't available for public viewing," Kris said and Eileen raised her eyebrows at that.
"Wow, that's rare. You're actually interested in knowing more about other people beyond the need to know base," Eileen felt mildly interested now, because people that could get attention from Kris Tenebra usually weren't ordinary people.
"That's rude. I do pay attention to other people when I need to," Kris huffed, glancing at her in a light grouch before he focused once again on the screen.
"Well, it's still rare occurrence," Eileen sniggered again since Kris sulking was a cute sight to behold. "Who are these students then?" She crowded Kris space to look over his shoulder and found data about four foreign students.
Eileen blinked when some of the lines of their biography were blacked out. "What the…?" Why were they blacked out? It was campus record, right? It wasn't normal that mere students' information were blacked out even in campus record.
Unless…
"So even our campus doesn't have the whole information of their identities…" Kris' low mutter alerted Eileen.
"Kris?" Suddenly Eileen felt worried. Who were these people? Did they do something? What did Kris have to do with them?
"It seems that unless I get to know them personally, I won't be able to uncover their intention completely," Kris closed up the window and shut down the system before he closed the lid of Eileen's laptop.
"Kris… who are these people?" Eileen was seriously curious now and she needed answer whether it would somehow bring problem to Kris specifically or to them in general.
"I haven't known exactly yet. They could be allies, but could be foes as well." Kris stood up and grabbed his bag. "Thanks for lending me your laptop, Eileen," he said before walking away.
"Kris!" Eileen called loudly and Kris turned back to her. "You need to tell us if you need help in anything at all, okay?" Eileen said seriously and Kris gave her another small smile. He raised his hand and made an okay gesture with his fingers before he got out of the lecture hall.
So Kris wants information about those people, huh, because he hasn't figured them out completely yet?—Eileen recalled the names of those people that Kris had looked up earlier.
Lu Bu, Son Goku, Ryuujou Rin, Mikazuki Ace…
It seemed that Eileen needed to look them up as well. She'd keep an eye on them after that. "Don't do anything rash, Kris."
~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~
Jave and Spike were on the way home when they stumbled upon Rudy and Dellons just coming out from the grocery store.
"Rudy!" Jave called as he sped his steps, Spike following with his longer strides.
Rudy, upon hearing his call, paused and turned. "Oh, hey guys," then greeted them back.
"Shopping for dinner?" Jave asked the brunet after seeing the plastic bag full of green vegetables, carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers. He blinked at the cucumbers, wondering why Rudy purchased them.
"What about you guys? Just finishing your date?" Dellons asked, smirking teasingly while looking at Jave and Spike alternatively. The blue eyed blond that stood beside Rudy also carried a bag, but made of brown carton. Jave couldn't see what was inside since Dellons hugged the bag upright on his chest and, although Jave hated to admit it, the blond was 6 cm taller than him.
Spike seemed to ignore Dellons by not raising to his usual bait, while "Oh, you're there, Dellons?" Jave blinked at the blond in feigned innocence, acting like he just saw him there.
"Cheeky brats," Dellons scoffed at them in a visible annoyance and Rudy just chuckled.
"We're going to have fruit salad and hotpot today," the brunet answered Jave's unsaid question with his 'going shopping' inquiry earlier.
"Ah, so that's what the cucumbers for," Spike commented, apparently also wondering about that particular purchase. No one in the house ate cucumber after all, except when it was made into pickles or mixed into fruit salad.
"Wait, hotpot? What about the meat? I don't see any meat there," Jave pulled part of the plastic bag to look more deeply inside the bag for the 'must be there' item in the hotpot.
"Relax, Dellons is holding them right there," Rudy pointed at the carton bag in Dellons arms with his thumb.
"There are also tofu, shiitake, matsutake and enokitake(1) in here. It will be great addition to the hotpot," Dellons grinned roguishly as he patted the carton twice.
"You mean… Sukiyaki(2)?!" Jave eyes sparkled in excitement at the prospect since Jave loved Japanese food, and Spike chuckled seeing him. "Ah! Just now you laughed at me, didn't you?" Jave turned to Spike and pouted at him and Spike covered his mouth with the back of his hand, seemingly still pretty amused since his shoulders shook a little. "Spike~!" he whined at Spike then, a bit mad that the taller man made fun of him.
"No, I'm sorry," Spike chuckled again some more before he softened his gaze at Jave and reached his hand out to ruffle Jave's hair. "You just look adorable when you're excited," he said with a kind smile and Jave couldn't help flushing a bit and his hear skipping a beat feeling the affection from Spike gentle touch and expression.
"Whoa… I think my teeth hurt a bit seeing that," Dellons quipped.
"Dellons," Rudy chided the blond as Dellons cackled and Jave decided to ignore the comment as he chose to look at Spike's glimmering olive green eyes.
Spike also didn't seem to mind Dellons' mocking as he continued ruffling Jave's hair, as if he couldn't get enough. It was clear even to Jave that Spike was fond of him. He hadn't been always a touchy-feely kind of guy. Just the opposite actually, Spike didn't like to touch or be touched before, when Jave met him for the first time.
Jave met Rudy, Kris, Dellons, Eileen and Rachel when he went into high school, but Spike went to the same middle school as Jave and he was Jave's senior at Hockey Club. Spike was an amazing player, especially in ice hockey game. The way he glided on the rink while holding the staff and sliding the puck, the way he passed every opponent in his way like he was dancing on ice… Spike always looked so cool when he played. He was the best player in their middle school and he was also chosen as a candidate of junior player under 16 representing their state in that year Olympic when he was in his second year of middle school. However, something also happened that year. Jave hadn't known the detail, but he heard there was some kind of family issue, and there was also a rumor that he beat some people half to death or something that in the end, Spike's candidacy was revoked and he was banned from playing in every official match after that.
Jave didn't know what really happened even until now. Spike refused to talk and the school made a huge deal of covering up whatever actually had gone down, but it still couldn't save Spike career in the sport anymore so he finally resigned in his third year. Jave idolized Spike, but he couldn't do anything to help him. Spike… didn't talk much before the incident, but after that… he didn't speak to anyone at all. He always look dark and deadly, and there was this violent vibe around him that made everyone afraid to even greet him. Jave ignored all that warning sign and kept trying to talk to Spike even though he knew he was just being a bother. Spike mostly ignored him when he was around, not even regarding his presence, but Jave didn't give up and kept it up until the end, until Spike's graduation day.
When Jave congratulated Spike with a happy grin behind their school building, for the first time since after he was done with the sport, Spike looked at Jave again in the eye. His eyes were cold and Jave thought that he had crossed the line this time and Spike would finally hit him as a parting gift of being a nuisance in his final year. But instead of a punch, Spike gave him a hug.
"Thank you."
Spike had spoken then near his ear and Jave felt like he was about to cry. It was short and simple, but weighted more than any word or gesture that could convey that what Jave had been doing hadn't been for naught, that somehow he had helped despite just being there. When Spike pulled back and looked at Jave once more, his olive green eyes were no longer as cold as the color of winter, it was glimmering like auroras and at that moment Jave realized.
Ah, I love this person...
It was such a shock. The realization hit him so hard his feet almost buckled. And comprehending that it was too late because Spike was graduating and he wouldn't see him again after that, Jave cried then. Spike only ruffled his hair gently for a few seconds before he turned and then walked away.
It was a bittersweet experience for Jave. Before, he didn't realize that love could be nurtured between two guys and even though there was confusion at first because he was just still a boy and hadn't experienced such kind of feeling previously, he could and had completely accepted that it was love that he felt for Spike at the time. It was different from his feeling towards his family and friends. It was a feeling that was painful but made him warm and happy to have it inside his heart.
Jave… had wanted to treasure that feeling and always remembered Spike as his first love… at first.
Actually, Jave was a bit depressed after Spike graduated, so his foster parents bought him a dragon egg. Ahem, it was actually a Flying Dragon Lizard egg, but his foster parents loved fairy tale and they tried to convert Jave since he was a six year old kid to be a believer and maybe he had hoped a bit that it was a real dragon egg because of the name of the species, you got the gist. So Jave took care of the egg as a way to pour and nurture his unspoken love to Spike, and then Red was born from it. Jave loved Red like he was a family, a brother. He always thought that by loving Red, somehow, his love could also be channeled to Spike. It was silly of course, but Jave felt a lot better after having Red to care for.
But fate had a unique way to tease people, indeed. Who would have thought that Jave would attend the same high school as Spike a year after that? Jave was completely ecstatic when he found Spike again. You could say that the 'love' was doubled in amount if it could be measured by numbers (he had Red and Spike after all). After that, Jave hadn't left Spike's side ever since.
Spike in high school was mellower than he was in middle school. Jave believed it was because he had met Rudy and the others. They were a bunch of mixed weirdoes at first glance. Rudy was an orphan, but he had had a foster family like Jave since he was 14, and time to time Rudy still went to the orphanage where he was originally brought up. He was a kind person with a great sense of justice, was clever, witty, and very good in making other people like him.
Kris was… a strange one. He was very popular because of his status as an heir of Tenebra Group, but he was rather reclusive… Well, not exactly since he could actually speak in front of a lot of people when it was necessary, but people seemed to be overly cautious when they talked to Kris, as if a disaster would befall their life if they misspoke to him. He was also a genius in computer science. He helped installing security system for Student Council, Treasury and Disciplinary Committee's computers. Spike talked to Kris time to time, but they were a bit awkward around each other since neither was outspoken kind of guy.
Dellons was kind of like… a frenemy. He was a delinquent, an ass, and he was rude to everyone, but girls really liked him. Even though he made a lot of remarks that pissed a lot of people, no one actually hated him. He also kind of became a stress-reliever to Spike. Spike had a temper and dealing with rule-breakers all the time seemed to stretch his temper to the limit. Dellons was a frequent rule-breaker and he was quite strong in combat since he practice martial arts, so… whenever Spike needed to blow off some steam, he fought Dellons seriously. Spike went kind of berserk every time he fought Dellons, like the pent up violent side of him came out all at once. Spike never had to worry about hurting Dellons that badly because somehow Dellons had always survived the fight with minimal injuries.
Eileen and Rachel were also an interesting combination. Rachel was the heiress of Agni Group and Eileen was a common high school girl from a common family. Their history went back since kindergarten, apparently. They were in student council with Rudy and they knew Spike because he was the head of Disciplinary Committee. They were friends in the same circle and they were strong-willed girls that had no fear of anyone. Maybe it was because of their tough personality that they could speak what was in their mind clearly and their fearless character gave them leeway to communicate with Spike efficiently.
Jave found those people amazing, even Dellons despite being aggravating most of the time. Moreover, they accepted Jave into their circle of friends with open arms. It was wonderful three years of high school for Jave afterwards. Well, maybe two since they graduated a year earlier than Jave, but it didn't matter because he moved into their boarding house after that and lived with them like a family. I was full of wonderful, exciting experience and Jave was happy being with them. Very happy indeed that he almost didn't think much of his love towards Spike.
Being together, living under the same roof, taking care of each other, Red and everyone… it was enough for Jave. But now, at this moment, when he looked into Spike's eyes and thought how doting he was on Jave, he couldn't help wondering, hoping, if his 'love' would be returned.
"Oooi, earth to the pair of lovebirds over there. Keep the PDA to a minimum and let's go home already! I'm starving!"
Dellons' aggravating, teasing voice broke the moment between Spike and Jave, fetching Jave out of his train of thought with a mortified gasp for being addressed by such embarrassing remark. "Shut up! You—ass!" He turned to lunge at Dellons who already foresaw the imminent violence and ran while laughing.
Rudy just chuckled again shaking his head and Spike let out a sigh with a tiny smile on his face.
End of Round 4
Tbc…
Additional Notes: source Wikipedia
1)Shitake: (Lentinula edodes) is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine
Matsutake: Chinese & Japanese pine mushroom, Tricholoma matsutake = syn. T. nauseosum) common name for a highly sought-after mycorrhizal mushroom that grows in Asia, Europe, and North America. It is prized in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine for its distinct spicy-aromatic odor.
Enokitake: a long, thin white mushroom used in East Asian cuisine (such as that of China, Japan, Vietnam and Korea). These mushrooms are cultivars of Flammulina velutipes, also known by the name golden needle mushroom or lily mushroom. Wild forms differing in color, texture, and sliminess are called names including seafood mushrooms, winter mushrooms or winter fungus, velvet foot, velvet stem or velvet shank. This mushroom is available fresh or canned, with experts recommending fresh enoki specimens with firm, white, shiny caps, rather than those with slimy or brownish stalks that are best avoided. It is traditionally used for soups, but can also be used for salads and other dishes. The mushroom has a crisp texture and can be refrigerated for approximately one week
2)Sukiyaki: a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the nabemono (Japanese hot pot) style. It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. The ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs after being cooked in the pot, and then eaten.
A/N: Hola, guys~ heheh, as per someone's request, there's a Spike/Jave moment at the end of this round *grins* I can't help making their history a bit of bittersweet *still grinning* They're just so cute! *love* And… Red, yeah, hasn't come up yet, but he will… soon… So, review?
Teaser:
"Hey, is that Kris?" Rudy looked worried as he spotted their friend walking together with some people that they didn't know in the distance.
"Huh… wait, who are those people?" Jave also looked concerned, because Kris' expression didn't look amused.
Rachel and Eileen looked quite alarmed when they recognized those guys despite the suspicious suits and sunglasses, as if they were trying to disguise themselves. "They're the Four Lords…"
"What is he doing with them?" Eileen was visibly pale now.
A vein popped up on Dellons' head. "Hoo… that bastard Lu Bu didn't heed my warning, huh?" He was apparently irate enough to crack his knuckles, ready to punch some people.
Spike observed further and spoke when he noted that one of the guy, the slender man with bluish-silver hair put his hand on Kris' lower back and guided him to get into a limousine, and Kris let him. "Well, Kris doesn't seem to be unwilling either. He'd run if he really didn't want to be there."
